Improved apparatus for discharging- coal



f. i tant ateatlttffiw. lesvM-EDWARD-F. FL'OOD. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent No. 88,37 9, dated March 30, 1869. w

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DISCHARG-ING- COAL.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the sama.

To all 'whom t't may. concern Be it known that I, EDWARD F. FLooD, of Chicago. in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have inL vented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Discharging Goal; and I do declare tha-t the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, and consisting of two sheets, in which- Figure l, sheet 1, is an isometrical perspective. Figui-e2, sheet 2, a vertical section of that portion above the railway.

Figure 3, sheet 2, and Figure 4, sheet 2, details.

The object of my invention is to facilitate the discharging of coal from vessels.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I proceed to describe its construction and operation.

My apparatus is to be located near the edge of the dock at which vessels are to be unloaded. v

A A represent a railway-track, constructed and supported upon standards C, in the usual manner.`

B B are timbers, supported in a similar manner, and provided with rails, upon which the cars used, run.

D is a timber, placed near the edge of the dock, upon which the main portion of the apparatus rests, and along which it may be moved, as desired. This timber may be bolted to the supports O, as shown.

a. a are two upright pieces of timber, about nine inches wide and four inches thickpand thirty-five feet long, placed about three feet and four inches apart, and having their lower ends secured to a strong cross-timber, b, about'twelvefeet long.

The ends of this timber b are secured to irons c, having rollers pivoted within the irons, to enable the operator readily to move the apparatus along the timber D, on which the rollers res Ihe irons c extend down over the edges of the timber D, which may be provided with'irons, or a groove on the edges; then, by slightly bending the ends of4 he guns c, they maybe loosely secured to the tim- The timber b is pivoted at the ends to the irons c, so that the apparatus can be readily adj usted to any desired angle.

d are braces, one end being secured to the timber b, the other end, to a. y

At the top of each post a., I secure a piece of scantling, h, and a little above the centre of each post a, I secure another similar scantling, g. The other ends of h and g are secured to each other, substantially as shown.

These serve the purpose of bracing the posts a The side-piecesf extend back from this platform, and are att-ached to the slidef, which is provided with a slot, o, and is attached to g by aset-screw, or otherwise, and may be adjusted vertically, as desired.

The side pieces f are provided each with a slot, l, and the rod j passes, at each end, into-a bearing, t, secured to the piece f byset-screws, which may be ad just-ed at such part of the slot l as may be necessary.

The side-pieces f may be regarded as part of the platform F, the outer end of which is supported by chains s, connected thereto, and passing up over sheaves a" at the upper ends of the posts a., are then carried down to and around the windlass w, by the use of which the outer end of theplatform can be adj listed to any desired height.

The platform is about eighteen feet long. 4 E is a spout, or chute through which the coal descends, either directly into the yard, or into cars, to be conveyed on the tracks to all parts of the coal-yard.

The spout proper may be about eighteen feet long, with a sliding extension, n, about six feet long. y

The upper end of the spout may be supported by the rod c, pivoted to the spout, and passing through a set-screw, as shown, by means of which the inclination may be adjusted.

The centre. of the spout rests upon a rod, or bar, cl', the ends of which are supported in the lower ends e of the slides j, and the spout, as well as the platform, can be adjusted vertically by means of these slides, the upper ends of which are held in their proper position by the parts f of the platform.

an is a guard passing under the rod, or bar., It is permanently attached at its ends, to the bottom of the spout, and by means of screws c', fig. 4, passing into the` rod, or bar cl', the spout is securely held in place.

m is provided with slots l), and the screws c', being loosened, the spout can be adjusted longitudinally.

q is a rod inserted in the posts a, upon which areY two slides r, through which the bars p pass, which, at one end, are lpivoted to the lower end of the sliding spout n, furnishing a support for the same in any positio'n, being held where placed by means of set-screws in the slides r. By the use of the sliding-extension n., the main spout can be lengthened, if desired.

The apparatus can be adjusted at any desired angle, and held in position by means of chains t, one cud of which is-attached to a clip, n, upon the beam B.

The chain is then passed over a sheave, t', a little above the centre of the posta, and carried back to the clip u, to which it can be secured` in any convenient manner. For this purpose I attach a pin, or hook to the clip. v

These clips are so constructed and connected to the beam B, that they cau be readily moved longitudinally upon the beam, to correspond with the position ofthe apparatus upon the beam I).

The dotted line e, iig. l, represents a beam, which may be placed in the position indicated, or alittle further back, and directly beneaththe railway A A'.

To the outer end of the platform F is hinged' an apron, or detlector, about five feet wide, the lower edge of which is held somewhat back from a perpendicular line by a suitable spring, y, fig. 2, one end of the spring being connected to the lower side of the platform, andthe other near the lower edge of the apron.

This apron is designed to prevent the bucket from catching under the edge of the platform, and being hinged, those emptying the bucket. can more easily draw the bucket .in over the upper edge.

The-slides r are loosely connected to the rod q, to provide for the free movement of the chains s along the windlass. V

lVhen not in use, the apparatus can be thrown back out of the way of vessels, the posts a c resting against the timber B, as shown by red lines in fig. l.

In use, when a vessel from which coal is to be discharged has been brought to the dock, tl'ie'apparatns is thrown forward, and adjusted iu such a position that the persons who are to empty the buckets can readily reach them when they have been elevated to a level over the edge of the hatchway. The coal is elevated in buckets,`in the usual manner, and being emptied into the chute, passes into a car at the lower end, and is thence taken to any part of the yard.

.By using the extension n, a portion'of the coal may at first be `permitted to pass directly to the ground.

As many railway-tracks may be used as may be necessary. i

Having thus fully described my invention,

That I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

l. The chute E and platform F, in combination with the supporting-frame a, all constructed and operating substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. The apron x, in combination with the chute E, platibrn'i F, and adjustable supporting-frame, as described, all constructed and operating substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The suppoiting-frame a, when hinged to the movable blocksc. I

4. The combination and arrangement of the chains t with the swinging frame a and track-frame C, substantially as specified.

5. The combination and arrangement of the swing ing frame a, when provided with a coal-chute, with suitable carrying-.tracks A B, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

EDWARD F. FLOOD.

Witnesses:

E. A. WEST, W. H. GILLMoRE.

with the platforui, the outer end of the platform being 

